Tragic news from the Caverns today. A Cave Dragon has been spotted, and by the time the report had reached my ears, the scent of fresh meat had already reached the zombie horde which dwells beneath us.
This majestic, ancient creature; roaming the world since time immemorial- SHE COULD HAVE BEEN OUR NEW GUARD ANIMAL, AND THOSE $%@@@&*! ZOMBIES RIPPED HER LIMB FROM LIMB!
.....
#$@*^&$#!!!
We've delayed long enough. Although our plan of moving key Fortress operations to the first Cavern in order to make use of the eventual magma reservoir still proceeds, the third Cavern hosts the greatest number of undead. It must be cleansed.
4 SlateThe breach tunnel has been lined with cages, and our Militia is fully mobilized for the first time in our history.
I take it upon myself to make the breach myself. Although
Tradition says that commanding from the back lines is perfectly acceptable for the Nobility, I feel that showing my personal support for the troops is needed here.
A few of the soldiers run past me on my way down. I thought at first this was cowardice, but they claimed to be 'getting provisions'. That... is actually believable. The trek down here is a solid day and a half. Hmm. Any sustained effort to keep the Caverns zombie-free will require several bases be established, each with provisions, and possibly dedicated mine cart transport. I put the thought aside for now. Time to show the accursed creatures what they are up against.
5 SlateThe horde descends upon us the moment I break open the final bit of stone.
I had hoped to contain the battle within the spacious room, but the soldiers in their frenzy charged the zombies immediately, and battle was joined in the narrow confines of the cage tunnel.
The initial reports look promising.
3 & 1/2 years of non-stop training has turned our small band into the stuff of legends.
6 SlateThe troops have fallen back to the breach's entrance, forcing the zombies to funnel through, making them easy pickings.
7 SlateAfter 3 straight days of combat, victory is at hand. The battle has spilled out into the Caverns proper as the remaining undead are cornered and obliterated. The guttural anger of the horde is matched only by the consistent clang of silver and iron, smashing the foul creatures into a pulp.
Alas, we did not come away completely unscathed. The first casualty report has just reached my desk.
11 SlateCleanup operations have begun. We are erecting walls to cordon off a portion of the third cavern, and destroying all of the ramps on our side.
Scouting reports also show that we have dealt a decisive blow against The Evil.
As I glance over the report, I am startled to see a zombie crundle wrestling with one of the haulers!
Ah, twas the other way around. We'd caged one of the little bastards, and this Dwarf had looped a gold chain around it (we have a whole bin full of the things, thanks to our Mayor), dragging it to our de facto zombie storage on the surface.
4 FelsiteI'm barely sleeping these days. My fault... my fault they are dead. Fortress morale has taken a major hit since the attack. I foolishly thought we could build a bridge at the final chokepoint, expediting our cleanup operations. The sheer volume of zombie chunks made this a very time-consuming task. Coupled with the distance involved... nobody saw them coming until they were well past the breach.
Can you see them? Those 3 shadows lurking in the olivine passages. I had the report, and completely missed them. It has been some time since I have mentioned my close friend and founding Dwarf, Pencil_Art, and I hate that his name should come up amongst this tragedy. I went to visit him in the hospital; he grinned at me from underneath the numerous bandages and mess of bone & blood that used to be his nose. He shrugs at the injury, claiming he never really needed the thing anyways. He then proceeds to recant how he gave one of those errant zombies such a thrashing, buying enough time for a Spear Dwarf to reach the scene.
Sifting through the aftermath of the scene, I discovered why so many peasants had been making the trek down. The magma chute I dug for zombie disposal was the only designated Dump Zone in the Fortress, and Dwarves had come down to dispose of their tattered clothes. It is only for the sake of
Tradition that I have recorded this gruesome scene... beware ye of faint hearts.
You see that lavender worm with a mouth replacing the entire head? That is a particularly foul critter known as a 'Voracious Cave Crawler'. Dangerous enough when alive, it will attack any Dwarf that gets too close, but usually won't actively hunt down anything capable of fighting back. Undead however, it literally chewed through (wait... yes,
literally), a dozen Dwarves before one of our Spear Masters was able to put it down for good. We'll have to seal the breach further back, then regroup once the Militia has had time to recover.
22 FelsitePreparations for breaching & securing the first Cavern have been occupying all of my time of late. As such, work on the sand castle (including the greenhouse / farm renovation) has ground to a halt. On the plus side, I have been told that our perimeter defense got tested, and proved highly successful.
Well, at least the surface remains free of anything seriously threatening.
Raise the bridge! Militia assemble! Start moving the booze down to...
Oh. The Cyclops headed straight for the last-seen opening (the front gate), which is lined with cages (unlike the walls, which are lined with saw blades). I wonder if Cyclopses are smart enough to be trained. In any case, it will be the start of our Zoo, and should prove an excellent morale booster. We're going to need it; for even as I write this journal entry, I have received word from the scouts that 20-some Crundles have scurried into view at the third Cavern, while 4 more zombies have appeared at the soon-to-be unsealed first Cavern.
Securing a base in the first Cavern is critical if we ever wish to address the zombie menace of the third Cavern in a timely fashion. So long as the zombies are allowed to roam free, their combined Evil will deter any other beasts from entering our land. As I ponder this, I muse that the pump stack has reached an impressive distance above the magma sea. Perhaps a test is in order...
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Talk about a brutal few months, both here and for the Dwarves, lol. The militia has proved they are more than capable of handling a zombie invasion. The problem is, as always, logistics. I'm pretty sure that a Giant Olm and Troll zombies reside somewhere within the massive first Cavern, so breaching it will require both walls and a roof ASAP. At least Crundles can't climb, lol (I sincerely hope
). Once the final bridge & wall pieces are established in the third Cavern, we'll have a secure foothold.
If I can get the zombie count down to less than 10 or so, that should be sufficient to allow surface creatures to spawn again. We may yet see a Unicorn farm
I don't expect any serious progress will be made on the Objectives until Magma Forges are established. Once those are operational, mining & smelting efforts can be directed towards the remaining grates and tunnels needed to complete the massive waterfall system. Hello Dwarfiness Points, goodbye FPS. Till next time
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Topic: Evil Beach MK II, now with Achievements-ish (Read 6500 times)